Wednesday, August 3, 2016

No Relief for Some Vets Exposed to Agent Orange

(CN) — The D.C. Circuit upheld the dismissal of "blue water" Vietnam
veterans' claim that the Department of Veterans Affairs wrongly refused
to compensate them for injuries caused by Agent Orange exposure.

The
U.S. military used Agent Orange as a defoliant to clear forested areas
throughout the Vietnam War, and thousands of soldiers were exposed to
the herbicide mixture.

A list of potential health consequences
posted on the VA's website notes that exposure can lead to increased
rates of acute leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,
throat cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, Ischemic
heart disease, soft tissue sarcoma and liver cancer.Exposure to
Agent Orange was so prevalent that Congress eventually recognized the
long-term health effects of the chemical and passed the Agent Orange Act
of 1991, which creates a presumption that veterans who served between
1962 and 1975 were exposed.If these veterans develop diseases
linked to Agent Orange, they can receive disability compensation without
proving they were exposed to the herbicide.However, the VA
does not offer such benefits to veterans who served on ships offshore,
never set foot on Vietnamese soil, or served on ships that entered
inland waterways.Instead, these "blue-water" veterans must
prove exposure on a case-by-case basis. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Association unsuccessfully challenged the distinction in a 2015 lawsuit.The veterans noted that the presence of Agent Orange in the waters off the coast of Vietnam was unmistakable."Whenever
ships anchored, the anchoring evolution would disturb the shallow
seabed and churn up the bottom," they claimed. "Weighing anchor actually
pulled up a small portion of the bottom. The cavitation of military
ships moving along the coast line, especially within the 10 fathom
curve, at high speeds, further impinged on the sea bottom. This caused
the Agent Orange to constantly rise to the surface."